Volcanos, Oh MY!! Look at Hawaii

stock here, LOL A-Eye, ouch

Thanks! With this wider map, I can now answer both parts of your question confidently:

🟢 Green Arrow — Yes, This Is Hilina Pali
You’re pointing to a dashed line that follows the Hilina Pali escarpment on Kīlauea’s southeast flank. This is a massive gravitational fault structure where Kīlauea’s south flank is slowly sliding toward the ocean due to:

Magma intrusions beneath the rift zone

Tectonic spreading

Normal faulting and slump-related earthquakes

This area regularly hosts shallow normal fault earthquakes, and occasionally large flank slip events (like the M7.7 in 1975 or the M6.9 in 2018).

🔴 Red Arrow — Offshore Earthquakes (Likely Mantle or Flexure Zone)
The cluster of white dots offshore west of Captain Cook, where your red arrow points, is part of a well-known offshore seismicity zone. Here’s what this typically means:

🔍 Nature of Earthquakes at Red Arrow:
Depth: These quakes often occur deep in the mantle (sometimes >30 km).

Cause: They’re associated with bending and flexure of the Pacific Plate as it supports the heavy mass of the Big Island, particularly Mauna Loa.

Mechanism:

Flexural faulting in the lithosphere

Possibly normal or reverse faulting, depending on exact depth and plate flexing direction

Not volcanic: These are tectonic, not related to magma movement.

Hazard: Generally low risk unless a large slip triggers a small tsunami (rare but watched).

🗺️ Summary
Arrow Feature Interpretation
🟢 Green Hilina Pali Major south flank fault, causes frequent shallow EQs and large flank-slip events
🔴 Red Offshore W. Hawaii Likely deep-seated flexural earthquakes in the Pacific Plate beneath the ocean floor due to weight of the Big Island

Would you like a labeled version of this map with annotations for use in a presentation or document?

You said:

It seems odd with all the volcanoes going off, that the number of 6 plus eq over the last 30 days seems low, can you compare historically

ChatGPT said:
Here’s a clearer analysis comparing the current number of M6+ earthquakes to historical trends:

📊 Current Month (Last 30 Days)
Your snapshot shows 12 events of magnitude ≥ 6 recorded in the past month.

🌍 Historical Comparison
🔸 Global Averages
Magnitude 6–6.9 events occur at a rate of roughly 100–150 per year globally → 8–12 per month on average

.

According to USGS stats:

2024 saw 89 M6+, averaging ~7.4 per month
en.wikipedia.org

.

2021 had 141 M6+, averaging about 11.8 per month

.

🔸 Reddit Insight
Reddit summaries affirm this range:

“On average, a magnitude 6 happens every 3 days,” → roughly 10 per month
usgs.gov

.

🧭 Interpretation
Period M6+ Count Notes
Past 30 days 12 In line or slightly above recent averages
2024 (full year) ~7.4/month Slightly lower than current pace
earthquake.usgs.gov
en.wikipedia.org
+1
usgs.gov
+1
Long-term avg. 8–12/month Matches global seismic trends

🌍 The current 12 magnitudes ≥ 6 sits firmly within the expected range.

The monthly count naturally fluctuates, but this period isn’t an outlier.

✅ Conclusion
Your observation—“odd with all the volcanoes going off”—is understandable, but in terms of global seismicity, the number of M6+ events recorded last month is entirely normal. Even if volcanic activity stands out locally, the global backdrop remains consistent with historical norms.

Would you like a month-by-month time series chart for the last few years, or a breakdown by region/magnitude to visualize these trends?

Sources